‘Unbelievably poignant' Katie Taylor message strengthened Lions' will to win

Irish Times

27-07-2025

Jack Conan's
seasonal finale has delivered in spades. After captaining
Leinster
to the
United Rugby Championship
title, the
Lions
ever-present from four years ago was in ebullient form after Saturday's
29-26 win
sealed a series triumph that he will remember forever.
The result was all that mattered as Conan reflected on an imperfect training week and what he felt was a far-from-perfect display by himself and the Lions, but one that had additional meaning for the man from Bray.
'We were not at our best by any measure, but physically the lads dug in unbelievably well,' said Conan, who turns 33 on Tuesday. He revealed: 'We had a video from
Katie Taylor
earlier in the week and it was unbelievably poignant and powerful. It spoke about being prepared to win with skill, but be ready to win by will.
'I think that was something that summed up today massively because we were not at our best at all. Pretty disappointing how we played, but we played for 80 minutes.
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'Barry (
Hugo Keenan
) getting over the line last minute was just unbelievable. I think the celebrations and the crack and changing room, if we went out and we won by 20, it wouldn't be the same,' he admitted.
'Everyone's just over the moon. To be part of a Lions winning series team is just incredibly special. I feel incredibly humbled and honoured to be part of it all. Not my best game, but a lot of us weren't at the races at all, but we stuck in there. You can't fault the effort. I thought the defensive sets we put in, just whacking people and just staying in there, was unbelievable.
I think everyone loved it, even the English and the Scottish boys and the Welsh boy
—
Jack Conan
'It's something that will go down in history,' he continued, random thoughts pouring out amid the immediate euphoria of reaching one of the true highs of his rugby career.
'They weren't writing the history books about how s**t we were, but they'll say that we won and that's all that matters. Just so special to be part of it.'
Jack Conan (left) and Tadhg Furlong celebrate the Lions' victory over Australia in Saturday's second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Photograph: Martin Keep/AFP via Getty Images
Taylor's message was particularly poignant for Conan given they both hail from Bray.
'Massively. Huge. Someone to come from the town I'm from, I'm incredibly proud of where I come from and I know Katie is as well. She's gone on to achieve incredible feats in the boxing world and to be such a superstar and be just incredibly humble and driven and knock it out of herself is something that we kind of leant on as well. We knew that Australia are a hugely proud nation and they showed it today in spades.
'They were unbelievable, they really were, but we just stuck in it for 80 minutes and [I'm] just incredibly proud of the effort from the lads. I know things didn't click and we weren't flowing properly, but we were getting off the line, trying to hit people, trying to make it count every chance we got. And I think we did that and that's why we got the result in the end.'
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It transpired that the Irish performance coach Gary Keegan, who is also part of the extensive Lions backroom team, was the key figure in asking Taylor to provide a motivational video.
'Gary Keegan would have been very close with her and helped her through her amateur career into professional career; he's the link there. It meant a lot to me being from the same place and seeing her on the world stage, but I think everyone loved it, even the English and the Scottish boys and the Welsh boy. It resonated with everyone.
'It was unbelievably poignant, it was class. It really hit home for us, it was brilliant.'
Conan was one of a record nine Irish players in the starting line-up who contributed to this series-clinching second Test win, as well as Rónan Kelleher and James Ryan off the bench, with three of them among the Lions try scorers. In another ever-lasting image, Keenan was the match-winner.
Putting down one of the two cans of Guinness he had been holding in each hand, Conan said of Keenan: 'Delighted for him, because he had a bit of a rocky start to the campaign with the sickness that derailed him for a while and it's a testament to his professionalism and staying in it. I was delighted for him.
Jack Conan came close to scoring a try in the series-clinching victory against Australia. Photograph:'Now in saying that, I would have liked it more if he gave me the ball on the edge and I scored the try,' joked Conan, who helped give Keenan the space to beat Len Ikitau on his outside shoulder by holding his depth.
'No, delighted for Barry, I probably would have dropped it like the other one,' added Conan, in reference to the moment early on when James Slipper's tackle dislodged the ball from his grasp as he was diving over the line. 'No, it was knocked out of my hands lads.
'I was shouting for it, but Barry goes and scores a try. I've no complaints. If he bottled it there in that moment, I would have killed him and kicked the arse off him afterwards, but that was great.'
Leinster being the bulk suppliers had generated quite a bit of debate, but Farrell's selections had been vindicated.
'As a Leinster man you're normally on the other end of it where you don't win them, so it was nice to be on the other side of it for once,' admitted Conan with a smile.
'Yeah it's class, just the feeling afterwards, the celebrations. Big Tadge (Tadhg Furlong) was giving it 90 on the sideline which was class and it was just unreal, part of a Lions winning series is just so special, to have played two 80 minutes. I'm not sure if I'll be playing next week after my performance but we'll see what happens, but yeah, absolutely class.
'You can't take these things away from people; [they] go down in history. I know people don't have the best things to say about Australia but I thought they were class today, they were unbelievable, they played above themselves.
'We saw Valetini and big Willie Skelton come back into the side, they were unbelievable. They made a huge difference and we struggled with it at times. A little bit high in the contacts, a little bit soaking, whatever else. But it doesn't matter, we got there in the end, didn't we.
'The win's a win. Series win; Lions series winner. You can't take that away from us, so I'm delighted for everyone. Delighted for the coaching staff, delighted for the lads who played, the lads who didn't play because everyone's played their part. Roll on the celebrations, roll on next week and one more 80 minutes to go and then a bit of well-earned time off.'